


Ice Rose

by writingandcoe



Series: The Swindon Files [4]
Category: The Dresden Files - All Media Types, The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher, The Dresden Files Roleplaying Game
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dresden Files Fusion, Dresden Files Style Sidhe, F/M, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 12:20:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13998222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingandcoe/pseuds/writingandcoe
Summary: Dini Richardson was a small-town journalist in Swindon, covering petty crimes and road rage - until she got herself mixed up in the supernatural world and fought a bunch of Red Court vampires. Now, she's investigating more cases...and the supernatural world is taking an interest in her.But not all of the interest is good. Her growing relationship with the Summer Knight means that she's now a target, and even her friendships in the Winter Court might not be as beneficial as they seem.Set in an alt universe of the Dresden Files, a timeline and an ocean away from Chicago.





	1. An Unexpected Delivery

It's late in the evening. Darkness has fallen on us; although the nights are slowly getting longer, we've got Christmas to get through first, and that always seems to bring out Mab's mean streak. The weather's been rainy for the last few days, and it's cold drizzle today; Warren's hair is gently glittering in the streetlights as we walk down towards my house after dinner out in Swindon. He's been in America for the past few weeks and our first attempt at meeting was cancelled unexpectedly, so it's nice to see him; I'm almost bubbling with happiness, and he's laughing down at me as we walk back from the restaurant that I picked to introduce him to another weird food - Japanese, in this case. We're discussing one of Davido's latest adventures, apparently involving chickens and a very irate troll, as we arrive at my house. I find my key, unlock the door, and murmur, "Please come in, Warren."

He smiles at me and steps over the threshold. I've shrugged my coat off and hang it on a hook as the coatless Summer Knight shuts the door behind me. I still find it odd that he can control the weather around himself; he doesn't need a coat even in the harshest cold, and rain only lightly touches him. And then Warren's warm lips are on the bare skin of my neck, and I turn in his arms with a smile to kiss him.

Half an hour later, I'm mostly naked and he's bare-chested on the bed, and he's just kissed me when he suddenly stiffens. I pull back, and find him looking towards the window with a frown. "There is something-" he says, and then shakes his head. "I thought I felt...but it seems that it has gone."

I hastily shrug his shirt on and fasten two of the buttons to at least try to look presentable as I head down the stairs. Nothing shows through the spyhole, and so I open the front door.

There's a rose on the doorstep; blue-petalled, ice-covered, shining in the streetlights. Nothing else.

The night air is chill on my bare legs, and I kneel slowly as light spills out from behind me into the darkened street. The stem of the rose is cold to my touch, but it doesn't seem to be melting; it stays hard under the warmth of my fingers as I pick it up. There's the faintest of scents from it; a pure frost on an early morning, a clear blue sky and the diamond glimmer of the first rays of sunlight-

I look up, and around; the street's empty. But if he's glamoured, I wouldn't be able to see him...or maybe he's already gone. And then I hesitate. Why am I assuming it's him?

But who else would it be?

"Thank you." I whisper into the night air, and take the rose back inside.

Warren's standing at the bottom of the stairs, bare-chested, watching me with a puzzled expression as I shut the front door and come back down the hall. "What-" he says, and almost recoils as I hold the rose out to him. "Someone left it for you?"

"I...think it was Kindred."

Something - some strong emotion - crosses his face, but then it's smoothed away again. "The Winter Emissary? You know him?"

"He's a friend." I step past the Summer Knight, into the warmth and light of the kitchen, and lay the rose down on the worktop. The intricate tracery of ice on the petals is refracting rainbow shimmers around the room, and it's beautiful. I wonder if he created it himself.

The look is back on Warren's face as he follows me in; it's a mix of fear, jealousy, concern - and anger. "You are friends with him. Why does he give you a rose?"

"I don't know." I feel bewildered. The last interaction I had with Kindred didn't end well; he got what he wanted, but told me he'd never forgive me for tricking him. [This is the other story that might go up....or not.] Is this thanks? Is he trying to charm me? Bribe me?

And why did he leave it on my doorstep? Why didn't he-

I turn and raise my eyes to my lover, and a faint tendril of suspicion blossoms. Warren's staring at the rose with a look that's almost pain. "You have consorted with him? You have invited him into your home?"

"I offered him protection once, and he accompanied me on a delivery on Cornetti's behalf." My voice is clipped and irritated. "He has helped us with information and assistance on some of our cases. He owes me two favours."

"He is your lover-" the man starts angrily.

"No! He's someone I count as a friend, but nothing more." I glance down at the rose, and add, "I've never given him this sort of encouragement."

"He is dangerous-"

"I know." My chin is up. "I can take care of myself!"

"He is a Winter creature." Warren says in the fiercest tone I've heard him use yet. "He cannot be trusted. You should not be associating with him!"

"Your prejudices are showing. I'm not Summer Court!"

"You do not understand!" And for the first time I can see the Summer Mantle in him. It's the same fire and passion that lights him up when we're having sex, but it's hotter - it's anger, frustration, and a burning desire to own - control - take. It hasn't got the bitter and cruel side that Winter has, but that doesn't mean that it's any less fierce. "He cannot control what is inside him."

He's standing over me, fists clenched, and the look in his eyes is one that I've seen before. My back's against the counter, and I've got nowhere to run.

I'm scared.

"Are you any different to him?" I can't keep the faint shake out of my voice.

He blinks. Blinks again. And the look that crosses his face is one of pain. "I am sorry-" he whispers, opening his hands and taking a step back. "I-"

"What did you want to do?" My voice is still shaking.

He meets my eyes, flinches, and breaks down in tears.

*

"Why would he have left it for me?" I ask a little later. Warren's lying on the kitchen floor with his head on my bare legs, and I've got my back against the cabinets with my fingers in his hair. His eyes are still red, but he's more composed than a few minutes ago; the Mantle's back under control.

"It could be an agenda from the Courts..." Warren says with a sigh. "Whoever left it must have known that the Mantle exaggerates emotion. I do not like feeling jealousy or anger, but I admit that the rose brought out both...and it was from a member of the Winter Court!" I see his hands tense, and then he meets my eyes and forces himself to relax.

"Why would Winter want to split me from you?" I ask, twining my hand softly through his hair again.

"Or the Summer Court." Warren says. "They do not like mortals interfering in their affairs."

"I thought the Lady Rowan likes me..."

"She does." Warren smiles up at me, but then his smile fades. "But it could be any of my kin. It does not take much to bribe a member of the Winter Court." He sighs again. "I do not know, Dini. Court politics are complex, and it could be that Kindred was instructed to leave it for you as a means to hurt me. You are a target, now."

"I've been one before." I whisper. "But this is a bit of a different game."

He sits up and sweeps me into his arms. I wrap mine around his waist, and put my head on his bare shoulder. "I will protect you as much as I am able," the Summer Knight says gently. "The Summer Court knows that you are under my protection. But I cannot guess at the people who are willing to attack you so that they can get to me. I do not know what else to do."

I shrug. "I'll just take things as they come. But," and I shake myself free of his arms, "I am not Summer Court. You cannot dictate my actions or my friendships, Knight of Summer. You have to understand that."

"You are connected to my Court, Dini! You cannot be friends with someone from Winter."

"I am not a member of your Court." I can hear my own voice settling into what I think of as the 'Tony-voice' - flat, hard and implacable. "I am neutral, I am independent, and I choose my own contacts and friends."

"You should not associate with-" The Mantle is returning, a burning flame of pride and anger.

"No." My voice stops him dead. "I will choose on my own behalf. You may advise, if you wish, and give me reasons. But I will not bow to your word and your command simply because you are the Summer Knight. I am not a mortal toy for you to use as you will." I watch the range of emotions flash across his face and then add, as gently as I can, "If I am nothing more than an accessory to you, then I do not wish to be associating with you."

I watch the struggle on the face of the man in front of me. He had forgotten that with a mortal woman comes free will, and with this woman comes a stubbornness and a fierce soul that will not bow to anyone...and now he's learning exactly what he took on when he decided to ask me on a date.

And then he leans in, and touches his forehead to mine. "I forget...I am so used to the Court, so used to obedience. I forget the rest of the world does not revolve around us." The tears are close to the surface of his voice again. "Dini...never stop arguing with me. Never stop fighting me. Never stop being your own self. Please."

I can't help smiling. "I can do that."

*

Warren leaves as midnight comes closer, taking his shirt back - which I replace with a baggy jumper of Tony's - and wrapping me in the brief warmth of his arms. I smell the honeysuckle and rainfall of his skin, and it takes all my willpower to let him leave. I know that his first loyalty is to another mistress; he is here because he chooses to be, and I can't ever presume on that. And so I give him one last kiss, and watch as the door shuts.

But as I walk back into the emptiness of my home, feeling the familiar void settle in my chest, the rose glints on the worksurface. I sit down on the kitchen stool and gently touch the frozen blue petals. They still aren't melting; they're frozen in delicate tracery, fracturing out from the heart to fold gently back on themselves. The ice isn't clear, either - it's reflecting the colours of the petals through the distorted curves, mixing with the subtle shading of the frost on the edges.

Why did you leave it for me, Winter Boy?

And when I go up to bed I lay the rose onto my dressing table, next to my mother's comb and the bullet that nearly ended Tony's life. I have few keepsakes, but it seems somehow right that the rose should sit with them. As I curl into my sheets in the darkness, I watch shimmers dancing in the blue petals as the streetlights set the edges on fire with orange and gold.

Is the rose just a pawn in the game of seduction? Are you trying to drive Warren away so that I will be free for you to play with, just another pretty thing to break and discard once you've had your fill?

Is it just another game within a game, a strand within the political web of the supernatural world? Is there an agenda behind the gift, and my heart is just a toy to be used to control me?

Or are you starting to care, Kindred? Is there still some humanity left in you that could escape Winter's cold?

Fucking Faeries.


	2. Winter Wonderland

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In between the previous chapter and this one, we ran a casefile; the Winter Emissary, Kindred, had turned up at the Winter Court to find everyone murdered, and through a series of catastrophes, unlikely coincidences and general chaos, we saved Christmas! Yay! But it turned out that he hadn't been around to be murdered with everyone else because he'd been delivering, uh, something... to, um, someone... and when Dini demanded an explanation, he offered to walk her home through Winter.

The portal shuts behind us, leaving us in a snow-filled world with stars shining overhead, and the moon almost as bright as day. I'm still holding Kindred's arm, and we start walking in silence. The snow's almost completely trackless; our footsteps are the only thing showing. The night air is crisp, and luckily I at least am dressed for winter in Swindon, so I've got a coat on. Kindred's just got his usual t-shirt and jeans...but then he doesn't feel the cold.

"So it was you that left the rose," I say after a few moments. "Why?"

His eyes glitter as he smiles. "Did you like my revenge?"

"That was revenge?" That explanation hadn't occurred to me. "Why didn't you give it to me?"

"I knew he was there."

"Did you know it would cause an argument?"

His eyes widen for a fraction of a moment, and then he smirks. "Oh-ho, I'm causing trouble? Excellent!"

"Don't push your luck," I growl.

"Why not?" he says, laughing.

I look away from him, at the the scenery around us, smudged with dark trees on the horizon, twisted branches sticking out of the snow ahead of us, larger lumps that could be rocks. It's beautiful in the clear starlight, but...barren. Desolate. Lonely.

"Why me?" I ask.

He stops in the snowy meadow so that I have to turn to face him, and lightly pokes my nose with a cold finger. "You intrigue me, dollface. No one else has quite the same...attitude." He grins. "No one else has ever pulled a gun on me."

"Or tricked you."

He smirks down at me. "Indeed. So how does your Summer pretty-boy compare to Winter?"

"He's less dangerous. Kinder, gentler, and a lot nicer."

"But much less fun," he taunts.

I raise my chin and meet his eyes, feeling anger surge inside me. "I prefer him-"

I was in a large room, a crossroads, with doorways in all four walls. Square pillars held up a curved dome above me, and through the wide doorways I could see other rooms stepping out into infinity. This room was warm, with a fire burning in the center; it twisted upwards with a fierce anger, jumping and crackling.

But through through the doorways, ice was encroaching. The daylight from above was a cold white; the pillars glittered with faint frost, and the floor had a delicate white sheen. It was still a human place, and the fire was warm. But the terrifying beauty of the ice, the numbing cold and the haunting dark; it was slowly spreading.

The snow is white around me, and Kindred's face swims into focus. I swallow, and manage to breathe again. "You-"

He's eyeing me with interest. I know he must have seen what Warren did...a woman on her knees with shadows around her, her sword grounded: a failed protector who can't even defend herself. "So weak," he says after a moment. "Winter could give you everything you need."

I'm already shaking my head. "Cold, hatred, and cruelty? Winter doesn't care, it just wants to take. I have enough of that already."

"It's power, dollface. It could let you do everything you want."

"Hurt the people I love instead of protecting them?" My chin is up, anger still flaring in my core. "No. I will not be beholden to Winter or to Summer. I'm my own person. I won't take power from anyone else."

He's smirking down at me. "You'll change your mind when you really need it."

I turn away. "You offered to take me home, not an argument."

He shrugs, and offers me his arm again. I look sideways, up into glinting eyes under white-streaked hair, and think of Warren's green eyes, his faint smile, the unexpected laugh when I tease him. Warren hasn't offered me Summer's power...yet. I wonder if he will.

"My Queen could give you-" Kindred starts after a minute of silence.

"No." My voice is flat and quiet. "I've taken enough already. Leave it, Kindred."

"Manlet!"

It's a hissing, modulated voice that makes me shiver despite the snow around us. As I glance around a shadow detaches itself from the trees ahead of us, becoming a huge bobcat. "And you have brought a friend! Are you ready to play again?"

"Oh, fuck." Kindred mutters. "It had to be now..."

There are six or seven Malks, slinking towards us over the snow, spreading out to surround us. Terror clamps down. I don't have any bullets left in my gun thanks to the fight we've just had. Davido and Warren can't reach me here in Winter. Kindred's the only thing that's protecting me right now.

The Winter Emissary's stance becomes more of a crouch, and as I watch, ice coats itself around his fingertips to form knives. "Bring it on, kitty," he hisses back.

And everything seems to happen at once. Kindred's moving faster than I've ever seen him; two of the Malks are thrown upwards like rag dolls in fountains of snow, and an ice spear hurtles towards another, which jumps aside with a yowl. I duck out of the way of one of the huge cats as it lunges and Kindred's rolled aside, and they've managed to split me from him; two of them are now circling me while he battles with the others.

One of my Malks makes the mistake of getting too close to me, and gets a foot in the ribs and then a gun-butt in the side of the head as it skitters away. A high-pitched yowl comes back to me as it retreats hastily, a livid wound marking the side of its face where the steel has burnt the fur away. I'm just turning to see where the other one is when my body meets the ground; something heavy lands on my back and claws dig into my shoulder and arm, pinning me down.

I can't help a sob at the pain, and the Malk's breath is warm in my ear with something that's almost a purr. "You struggle so delightfully, little Summer child..."

My gun's flown out of reach; the claws dig in further and then I feel sharp teeth tighten slowly into the back of my neck...I'm sobbing into the snow, struggling helplessly against the weight pinning me into the cold ground. I'm going to die. I'm going to die here in Winter and there's nothing I can do-

-and then the weight's gone. I gasp in pain as I roll, hearing a hiss and snarl as the second circling Malk lands where I just was, and a claw swipes at my head; it whistles through my hair as I roll again and then I'm up and running towards Kindred - I can't do much to help him and I can't really defend myself, but he's the one thing I'm sure of in this alien land, and he's the only thing that can get me out.

"A chase, Summer toy?" a Malk's weird voice hisses from behind me. "What fun..."

Kindred's got two of the huge cats leaping for him, but he ducks one and stabs a hand upwards at the other, slicing along its side with a cut that makes the beast wail. A spray of blood marks the snow as it lands; the ground around him is a patchwork of red and white. A limp body is sprawled on the ground from the Winter Emissary's first attack, and there's a second cat limping a little way from the fight. The Malk that was on me is half-buried in a pile of snow, slammed off my back by what looks like a huge snowball. Kindred looks like he's winning.

I've almost reached him when something spins me and I tumble into the snow. The scarred cat pounces for me and receives a kick to the stomach that would make my brother proud, but it twists in mid-air and lands easily. I slide on the ice as I try to come to my feet, and then the Malk's full weight has landed on my chest; my body slams into the snow again and the world darkens for an instant as my head hits the ground.

Slices of pain bring me back; the Malk has sunk its claws into my shoulder and the renewed pain makes me choke back a scream. I lash out but it seems to make almost no impression as my fist meets muscle; the huge animal delicately shifts a paw to trap my hand, and the Malk's shining teeth bare as it lowers its face towards mine. The burn from my gun is livid on its head, seeping ichor into the fur. I can smell the rankness of its breath, a stench of blood and rotting meat, overlaid by the musk from its fur...I can't move, and I hear the crunch of more footsteps in the snow-

"Silence," a voice says quietly.

The Malk's claws abruptly withdraw, and then it skitters sideways off me. I push myself up and scrape my snow-covered hair out of my eyes.

Kindred's on one knee in the bloody snow with his head bowed, and the Malks have frozen into wary stillness. Mab's there, looking as beautiful as ever, although her expression is faintly irritated. And behind her there's a scarred, thickset man with an expression I don't like...he's wearing a leather jacket, and is standing like one of Tony's thugs. I wonder if he's the current Winter Knight.

"Miss Richardson is a guest in our realm." Mab says softly, but it is the lull of a blizzard, the quiet before an avalanche. "You should treat her with courtesy. Grimalkin?"

The Malk that was fighting Kindred now turns its huge head to me from where it is crouched next to him. "I apologise, little mortal, if our play has disturbed you," he says in his weirdly modulated voice. "I hope that you will forgive myself and my kin."

"You owe Miss Richardson a debt for your ill manners, Grimalkin," the Queen of Winter says icily before I can speak. Her eyes glide over me, and then turn back to Kindred. "My Emissary...will you show Miss Richardson some of our realm while she is visiting?"

"Yes, my Queen."

I manage a nod when Mab looks at me, trying to convey thanks despite not being able to get my voice to work. It sounds like I'm stuck in Winter for a while longer, whether I like it or not.

Then she and the man are gone.

Grimalkin's huge head turns to me again. "You may call in your debt to myself or any of my kin whenever you wish, Miss Richardson," he hisses. "I apologise again for our discourtesy." And then the feline eyes fasten on Kindred. "Until next time, Emissary."

Then we're alone.

Kindred turns to me, shaking snow out of his own hair. His eyes are glinting in the bright moonlight. "Bloody Malks."

"Why were they attacking you?" I ask, managing to stand.

"My Queen decided I needed some exercise." Kindred grumbles, but he's eyeing me. "Are you all right?"

I hold out a hand, which is visibly shaking. The Winter Emissary immediately takes it and somehow catches me as my knees give way. I know it's not sensible to cry, particularly not here in the dangers of Winter, but I can't stop. Over the last year I've put myself closer and closer to danger, but that was the first time I've felt that much terror. People pointing guns at me is not exactly normal, but it's familiar and controllable. A bundle of malice and fur that only wants to toy with me? I've got no defences against that.

Kindred patiently waits for me to stop, hugging me close against his chest. I do eventually run out of tears and breath, and he somehow produces a tissue from somewhere as he releases me from his hold. "Finished, dollface?"

The familiar sarcastic tone snaps me back to normality, and I scrub at my eyes. "Yeah."

"Come on, then." He stands and holds out a hand to help me up. "I've got to show you some of this world."

I shiver as I walk over to pick up the gun from the blood-soaked snow, and slide it into my coat pocket. "I don't like what I've seen of it so far."

"Did you like my rose?" he asks quietly as he holds out an arm to me. I'm still shaking as I walk back over and take it, and I'm grateful for his support.

I drag my mind away from the Malks and think of the blue flower, echoing the flames of the streetlights in the darkness of my room. "It's beautiful. Did you make it yourself?"

"No. But I can show you where they grow."

I smile for the first time since we left the mortal world. "I'd like that."

*

We're stepping through the bare trees of a winter forest, the trunks rising white and straight around us. The air smells of snow and frost, and the forest floor is crisp beneath my feet. There's rocks scattered around, with flashes of clear crystals between the dark stones as the starlight filters through. And then Kindred stops as the rocks begin to pile up around the path, forming a narrow entrance, and turns to smile at me. "We're safe here. Close your eyes."

I hesitate for a moment, but then close my eyes. His cool hand takes mine, and I'm walking forward, being guided slowly through the chill of the rock passage. Then the air's warmer; it still smells of frost, but there's also a faintly curling scent of moss and warm earth and...roses?

I feel Kindred's hand leave mine, but before I can panic his hands clasp my shoulders. I wince at the pressure on the Malk's claw-marks, and then his body lightly presses against my back. "You can open your eyes," his voice murmurs in my ear.

There's crystal around us; we seem to be inside a cave that's open to the clear night sky. I can see the white trunks of trees around the edges, but down here the cold isn't as penetrating; the glade's collecting moonlight, sparkling from the rocks around us and filling the hollow with starlight shimmers...and roses. Blue flowers tangle and twine in front of me; the bushes have spread to fill this protected haven, sending white leaves and blue petals across the moonlit air. The scent's delicate - sunlight on frost, the clear sky at dawn, the faintest hint of warmth and the melting of ice...

"You like it?" Kindred's voice says quietly in my ear after a while.

"It's beautiful," I manage to whisper. "How did you find it?"

"Stumbled across it. I was running from someone, actually. I fell into it."

The roses do have thorns, and I wince. "Ow."

He laughs softly. "It wasn't too bad. There's a space at one edge with moss in it, and I landed mostly on that. There are paths through the thorns, too."

There is a tiny, winding path; as we move through the tangles, thorns rise overhead with clumps of blue flowers drooping towards us. I stretch up a hand to touch one; the scent trickles down to me, and the petals are soft against my fingers. Kindred's hand reaches out from behind me and severs one of the smaller flowers. As I turn to him, he tucks the rose behind my ear, and his fingers linger in my hair as he smiles. "There you go."

"Why are you being nice?"

His eyes look down into mine, warm and slightly wistful. "I'm still human."

I need that right now. I slide my hand around his neck and kiss him.

"You owe me a debt, dollface," Kindred says softly as we separate.

I nod. I know how it works in this world of intricate debt and favour. "You saved my life."

"I want a Name."

I hesitate. But the terror of the Malks is still there, the freezing snow beneath my cheek, the smell of fur and sweat and blood, and the slow tightening of teeth and claws-

Before a snowball knocked them away.

"Don't tell anyone. Not your Queen. Not the Lady. Not anyone. Swear it."

He hesitates in turn, and then seriously says, "I swear it thrice."

I sigh. "Cornetti." And some odd tension inside me loosens.

There's a pause. "Elizabeth Cornetti. Two Names out of three." Then he gently touches my nose with a finger and quirks an eyebrow. "You don't look anything like him."

"He takes after our mother. I look like my father."

"Siblings."

"You thought we were married?" I start to laugh, and he grins.

"Nah, but I like to be sure of these things."

I give a rueful smile. "Does that pay the debt?"

He nods. "I still owe you two, though."

"I haven't forgotten." I stick my tongue out at him as he smirks.

He holds out a hand. "Let's get you home, dollface."

*

As we walk through the snow-covered landscape, Kindred turns his head to me. "She would give you all of this, you realise."

I look around at the frozen wasteland.

"The beauty. The glamour. The power." His voice is gentle. "It's not always harsh. Summer is furious and angry. Winter's beautiful as well as cold."

"What would she want from me?"

"Your loyalty," he says with a faint smile. "And three small favours. Nothing major."

I think of Warren's green eyes, and the shadows that he saw behind me. Winter's power...or Summer's...would let me have everything I wanted. But it would give me another shadow behind me.

"No." My voice is subdued. "It's attractive. But I've got too many people with a hold over me already."

He shrugs. "She'll find a way. She really likes you."

I shiver. "No, thanks."

He stops, and gives me a lopsided grin. "Well, think about it, dollface." Then he waves a hand, and Swindon appears through the portal in the scenery; it's grey streets and concrete buildings, and I recognise the alley next to the car park on Villett Street.

I look up at Kindred. "Thank you."

He smiles down at me; a warm human smile that lights up his scarred face. "You're welcome, Dini."

Then I bow to the Winter Emissary, and he inclines his head to me. Winter vanishes around me as I step through the portal, and I'm back in my world again with the morning sunlight on my face.

So, Mi-Shake first to give Tony his gun back, and then my office to write a story on the disturbance at Avebury, before going to check out what Everyman's dug up from the hospital records...and I'll contact Warren, tell him I'd like to see him when he's next back from America, and let Davido know I'm home so that he can collect his payment of ice cream.

But the ice rose will stay on my dresser, glinting in the heart of my home and never melting despite the warmth around it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The little sneaky thing that I was proud of in this story was that she made him swear not to tell the name, but didn't make him swear not to tell the relationship. You messed up, Dini!


End file.
